Traffic control for power conveyers



May 30, 9 c. w. KAMPFER TRAFFIC CONTROL FOR POWER CONVEYERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 12, 1942 May 30, 1944. c. w. KAMPF'ER 2,349,968

fl TRAFFIC CONTROL FOR POWER CONVEYERS Filed March 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W i 93M SW23;

l 1W6 a0 64 $7 5921m Patented May 30, 1944 TRAFFIC CONTROL FOR rowan CONVEYERS 1 Charles W. Kampfer, St. Paul, Application March 12, 1942, Serial No. 434,328

5 Claims.

My invention relates to an improvement in traffic control for power conveyers, wherein it is desired to provide a means of regulating the passage of conveyed articles over two branch conveyers at a junction thereof.

Various control devices have been originated for regulating the flow of conveyed articles at the junction of two conveyers so that the articles will be fed from only one conveyer at a time. Such a device must be entirely automatic in its operation in order to be practical and must control the flow of articles in such a way that both branches of the conveyer system will be taken care of at the junction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple mechanical device which will hold the articles conveyed on one branch of a power conveyer until articles passing into the junction from the other branch conveyer have passed into the junction. Thus the articles will not be fed into the junction simultaneously and can not wedge together at theintersection.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a trafi'ic control having a pair of arms which are movable into and out of the path of movement of the articles passing over the conveyer. These arms are normally in the path of the articles approaching the junction of the two conveyers. When one of these arms is pivoted out of the path of articles .by engagement with the article travelling along the conveyer, the other arm is locked from movement so as to hold articles stationary on the other conveyer. However, as soon as the first arm is released by the articles on the conveyer, so that it may move back into obstructing position, the second arm is released for movement out of the path of the articles on the second conveyer and the first arm is locked in obstructing position.

A feature of the present invention lies in the simplicity of construction and the ease of operation. Each of th obstructing arms actuates a cam. These cams operate a locked mechanism. 'When one cam is operated by movement of the corresponding arm out of obstructing position, the locking means engages the other cam and locks the same out of operation. Both armsoperate in a similar manner and the same operation takes place when either arm is moved out of obstructing position, the locking means locking the opposite cam against movement.

. A further feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the operating mechanism may be enclosed and may be operated in oil or other suitable lubricant so that wear may be maintained at a minimum. The obstructing arms are mounted on shafts which extend through this casing and all of the cams and locking mechanism parts are entirely enclosed.

A further feature of the invention lies in the provision of a pair of cams, each rotatably mounted on the shaft of one of the arms. Each cam is engaged by a roller mounted on a pivotally supported arm and the two arm are connected together to operate in unison. Accordingly, as one cam is rotated to operate one of the arms supporting a cam roller, the other cam roller supporting arm is simultaneously operated into locking position so as to lock the second cam from rotation,

These and other Objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of my specification:

Figure l is a top plan view of a junction between two power conveyer branches showing the traffic control in place. v

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the trainc control.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the cams used in my traflic control.

Figure lis'a sectional view on a plane parallel to the base of the control showing the parts in one relative position to lock the articles travelling on one conveyerfrom movement toward the junction.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the mechanism in position to allow passage of articles travelling over the second branch conveyer toward the junction, and to lock articles on the first branch conveyer from travelling toward the junction.

Figure 6 is a sectional view through the trailic control, the position of the section being indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a link arm used for supporting one of the cam rollers.

The traffic control A is designed to be positioned at the junction of two branch conveyer portions B and C, which merge into a single power conveyer portion D. Such junctions are well known in the art and require no detail description in connection with the present inven- 'tion.

designed to convey certain articles, such as boxes or crates, and certain of these boxes or crates are shown in Figure 1 being conveyed onto the conveyer portion D. For convenience the crates or boxes are indicated by the letters E, F, G, H, and I. While the boxes or crates may be similar or identical, these boxes are given this identifying indicia in order that the position of the different crates may be more easily described. A power chain II is provided for the branch conveyer portion B, by means of which the crates E, F, G, and H are conveyed along the conveyer portion B onto the conveyer portion D. A similar power chain I2 is provided on th conveyer portion C for conveying the box or crate I. The

the traffic control A is provided with a" pair of arms I3 and I4, which are rigidly supported on shafts l and I5 respectively, and which normally extend in the path of the boxes travelling along the conveyer portions B and C. In Figure 1 of the drawings, the arm I4 is shown in obstructing position holding the crate or box I from movement on the conveyer Portion C, while the arm I3 is held by the box F from pivotal movement back into obstructing position. It shall be noted that because of the proximity of the conveyer portions B and C to the pivots I5 and IE3, the arm I3 is prevented from pivoting back into obstructing position when the boxes follow in close succession, thereby holding the arm it locked and thus holding the crate or box I from movement until the box Ghas entered the junction. At this point the space between the boxes or crates G and H i sufficiently long to permitthe arm I3 to pivot into obstructing position, whereupon the arm I4 will be released, allowing the crate or box I to enter the junction. A short arm I? extends from the arm I3 at a point spaced from the arm bearing I9, and a similar short arm extends outwardly from the arm I4 at a point spaced from the arm bearing 2|. These short arms I! and 2!! are connected by a spring I8 which will normally draw the arms |3and IQ into the conveyer obstructing position illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. Both of the arms -I3 and I4 are normally maintained in the obstructing position shown in Figure 2 until boxes or crates moving along one of the conveyers pivots one of the obstructing arms.

The shafts i5 and I6 extend into a box-shaped housing 22, which. is in the general shape of a 5 triangle with the apex or point out off. This general shape is used to permit the housing to fit between the two conveyer portions B and C. The housing is preferably formed in upper and lower hollow sections which are fastened together by any suitable means, such as the bolts 23 which extend through ears24.

Mounted upon the shafts I5 and I6 within the housing 22, I provide a pair of cams 25 and 26. These cams 25 and 26 rotate with the shafts I5 and It so that each time the arm I3 is pivoted out of obstructing position, the cam 25 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction; and. each time the arm I4 is pivoted out of obstructing position, the cam 25 pivots in a clockwise direction. The cams 25 and 2B are engaged by rollers 21 and 29 mounted on link arms 3|) and 3|. Pivot pins 32 and 33 extend through the bifurcated ends 34 of the links 33 and 3| and through the rollers 2! and 29', which may be mounted on ball bearings,

if it is so desired. The general shape of the link arms and 3| may best be seen in Figure 7 of the drawings.

The link arms 30 and 3| are mounted on vertically extending pivot pins 35 and 33. The arms 30 and 3| are so constructed that the rollers 21 and 29 thereof are in the path of movement of either cam 25 or 26 as these cams are rotated. Thus, as the arm I3 is actuated, as by a container E on the conveyor portion B so as to rotate the cam 25 from the position shown in Figure 2 to V the position shown in Figure 4 of the drawings,

this movement of the cam 25 will swing the roller 21 and the arm 33 supporting the same in a counter-clockwise direction until this roller 21 is out of the path of the cam 25. A pair of links 31 connect the pivot pins 32 and 33, supporting the rollers 21 and 29, so that pivotal movement of the link arm 33 also causes pivotal movement of the link arm 3 I. As a result the arm 3| is swun in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in Figure 4, the roller 29 extending into the path of the cam 26 and preventing rotation of this cam. Obviously the roller 33 can not move out of the path of the cam 26 until the roller 2! is released by the cam 25 so that the cam 26 remains locked until the cam 25 releases the roller 21. Accordingly the arm I4 is maintained in obstructing position while the arm I3 is pivoted to allow passage of articles on the conveyer B.

Similarly, it will be seen that as the arm I4 is pivoted from the'position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings to the position shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, the cam 26 will be rotated so that the roller 29 and the arm 3| will be swung in a clockwise direction out of the path of the cam. The links 31 act to move the roller 21 into the path of movement of the cam 25, thus securely locking this'cam 25 from pivotal movement and holding the arm I3 in obstructing position over the conveyer B I have stated that a spring I8 connects the arms I 3 and It so as to hold these arms normally in conveyer obstructing position. Obviously after either of the arms I3 or I4 has been pivoted into position to allow boxes or crates to pass into the junction, the spring 2| will serve to return the pivoted arm into the position shown in Figure 2. A different spring means may be employed to return the arms 30 and 3| into centered position. An elongated flat strip of spring material 39 may be firmly anchored at one end 40 to the housing 22 and may be slidably engaged between a pair of anchoring ears 4| at the other end of the housing. A pair of bolts or bars 42 may extend between the links 31. The spring strip 39 extends between these bolts or bars 42' so that movement of the links 31 acts to flex the spring 39. The spring strip 39 tends to assume the straight position illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. Obviously when the spring is flexed either to one side or the other of the central position, as shown in Figures 4 or 5 of the drawings, the spring strip 39 will again return the links 3'! to centered position as soon as the roller 21 or 29, engaged by the cam 25 or 23, is released by the engaging cam.

Stops #33 may be provided for limiting the movement of the arms 30, or these arms may be so positioned that the rollers will pivot into proximity to the walls of the casing, which will automatically limit such movement.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of.my traffic control for power conveyers, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a conveyer system in which a. pair of branch conveyers converge into a single continuing conveyer, a housing, a pair of substantially parallel shafts extending from said housing, arms on said shafts designed to extend into the path of articles on said branchconveyers, cams on said shafts within said housing, pivotal arms movable into and out of the path of movement of said cams, the movement of each cam moving its associated pivotal arm, and means connecting said arms for simultaneous movement of said arms, movement of one of said armsby its associated cam out of the path of movement of aid cams operating to move the other of said arms into the path of movement of the other of said cams.

2. A conveyer system in which a pair of branch conveyers converge at a junction point into a single continuing conveyer, a parcel engaging stopping device for each of said branch conveyers, means mounting said stopping devices for movement into and out of the path of articles on said branch conveyers, a cam operated by each of said stopping devices, an arm pivotal into and out of the path of movement of each cam, parallel pivotal supports for said arms, means connecting said arms for movement in unison, resilient means for holding said arms normally in central position in the path of movement of both of said cams, the movement of one cam operating its associated arm out of its path of movement and operating the remaining arm into the path of movement of the other cam.

3. In a conveyer system in which a pair of branch conveyers converge at a junction point into a single continuing conveyer, a parcel engaging stopping device for each of said branch conveyers, means mounting said stopping devices for movement into and out of the path of articles on said branch conveyers, a cam operated by each of said stopping devices, an arm pivotal into and out of the path of movement of each cam, parallel pivotal supports for said arms, means connecting said arms for movement in unison, movement of one cam operating its associated arm out of its path of movement and operating the remaining arm into the path of movement of the other cam.

4. In a conveyer system in which a pair of branch conveyers converge at a junction point into a single continuing conveyer, a parcel engaging stopping device for each of said branch conveyers, parallel shaft means mounting said stopping devices for movement into and out of the path of articles on said branch conveyers, a cam mounted upon each of said parallel shaft means and operated by its associated stopping device, a roller mounted for movement into and out of the path of movement of each cam, means connecting said rollers for movement in unison, movement of one cam operating its associated roller out of its path of movement and operating the remaining roller into the path of movement of the other cam.

5. In a conveyer system in which a pair of branch conveyers converge at a junction point into a single continuing conveyer, a parcel engaging stopping device for each of said branch conveyers, parallel shafts supporting said stopping devices for movement into and out of the path of articles on said branch conveyers, a cam mounted on each of said shafts and operated by its associated stopping device, an arm pivotal into and out of the path of movement of each cam, means connecting said arms for movement in unison, the movement of one cam operating its associated arm out of its path of movement and operating the remaining arm into the path of movement of the other cam.

CHARLES W. KAMIPFER, 

